Friday AM January 15th, 2009

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A new report by ZipRealty shows month-to-month inventory in Houston was down 5-percent in December compared to the month before and down almost 12-percent year-over-year. That follows a nationwide trendÎ¾of lower housing inventory. This is ZipRealty's John Oldham.

"If people don't see their home that they're looking for that fits their needs, they're not going to be willing to buy. A lot of people are real hesitant still at this point to put their home on the market to sell so there's a lot of give and take right now in this market and people trying to figure out where they fit into it."Î¾

The data shows a little more than 26-thousand homes for sale in Houston last month. Oldham says lower inventory isn't necessarily a bad thing.

"It could be a turning point because now people are seeing an opportunity to buy. Prices generally decline when people are not buying, but now that there are fewer homes, there's less opportunity to buy, so it could be a pivot point for the market."Î¾Î¾

Of the 27-markets surveyed by ZipRealty, only two, Sacramento and Phoenix, had an increase in housing inventory last month.Î¾Î¾Î¾Î¾